Chocolate and Soured Cream Sponge

A delicious, so moist and utterly yummy, easy sponge recipe that is a bit different, making it so wonderful, trust me!!. It can be filled with whipped double cream, or Butter Cream and either of those may be flavoured with an extra hit of chocolate. You could also decorate the top, but personally I do not think it needs it.

You will need 2 x 8 inch loose bottomed sponge tins, buttered, with the bases lined. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C.

6 oz softened butter

9 oz caster sugar

2 oz good quality cocoa

6 oz self raising flour

1 level teaspoonful baking powder

a pinch of salt

a teaspoonful vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 x 150 ml pot of soured cream

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. In a jig, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and scoured cream. Sift together the flour, cocoa, bp and salt, then add to the buttery mix, along with the eggs and cream. Mix well.

Divide between your sponge tins. If you are a saddo, like me, you will use scales to ensure both have an even amount of mixture. Level off and bake for about 25 mins.

Cool in the tins for a short while then turn onto a rack to cool before filling. Yum yum.

Hint: I do like to add, as I did in the above, a little Camp coffee to my chocolate butter icing to give it a mocha flavour. Even more delish.

Note: Whenever I fill tins, without weighing, they always turn out uneven!! I try to fill, thinking  “right., that’s good” then I check and it is way out! 

Note: This recipe was given to me, on a piece of paper, neatly written. But a few months down the line, I have forgotten who handed it to me. Must be my age, so I must apologise. But it is not my recipe and it is scrumptious!

 

Prune and Treacle Bars

This amazing recipe was found by a follower, Sue, and the recipe was in an old book of her Gran’s which she found whilst emptying her Mum’s house after she recently passed away. The original recipe used margarine [not for me] and these days you can buy super soft stoned prunes, perhaps cutting out the need to boil the prunes for ten minutes. I must thank Sue for sending me this unusual recipe.

6 oz prunes

5 oz treacle

4 oz butter

5 oz sugar [I decided to use golden castor]

4 oz SR flour

2 eggs, beaten

[cook the prunes in boiling water for ten minutes, drain, stone and cut up]

Lidl’s prunes are super soft and stoned, so I will leave this bit out, except the cutting up of course. I chopped until the prunes were quite small, making it easier to cut the bars later, Melt the butter, sugar and treacle, then cool. Add the flour and prunes, then the beaten eggs. Pour into a tin…

Well, I think this needs a medium Tray Bake type tin - I used a 12 x 7 x 2 inch tin, well buttered and the base lined with parchment, with the long ends hanging over the long sides to help lift it out.

Bake for 30 mins. I plumped for 160C [fan]

Icing:

2 oz softened buter

4 oz icing sugar

1 tablespoonful treacle

When the cake is cold, spread over the icing and allow to set before cutting into bars [or squares]

Well, what a super find!! Yummy

 

Zesty Golden Syrup Cake

Another recipe passed on to me from Irene in Truro. No photo can tell you how absolutely delicious this cake is!!! Incredibly moist and moreish, this cake is super easy, keeps well - not that it will last and full of flavour.

You will need a 2ln loaf tin, lined with baking parchment, the long sides hanging over the edges to help you lift it out. Pre heat your fan oven to 140C

4 oz butter

2 oz golden caster sugar

2 oz soft light brown sugar

8 oz golden syrup

zest of a large lemon

8 oz self raising flour

1 large egg

150 ml whole milk

extra warmed golden syrup for a glaze

In a medium saucepan, place the butter, sugars, zest and syrup. Heat until well combined then then aside to cool.

Whisk together the egg and milk, then set that aside for a mo.

In your mixing bowl, place the flour, then add the milky mix and then the almost cooled syrup. [although I did it all in the saucepan]  Mix together, it is easier with an electric hand mixer, before tipping into your prepared loaf tin. Bake for about 1 hour, 10 mins.

Allow to cool for about 15 mins, then grab a fine knitting needle or similar and pierce the top of the cake. Meanwhile gently warm 2-3 tablespoonful more of golden syrup and gently spoon over the top of the cooling cake. Leave in the tin now until cold.

Store the cake for a day or so before cutting!! Got to be done you know! Leave the parchment on too and store in a clip box or tin foil, before slicing.  Just absolutely wonderful!

Super as a dessert too, with clotted cream or even custard.

 

The Friendship Cake

Now, I will admit to being sceptical when Irene, a Bridge friend from Truro gave me a starter, along with full instructions for the 10 day routine. Not onerous at all, just a minute a day.

This “Herman” cake is a sweet fruit sourdough and when it finally came out of the oven and I tasted it! Wow. It was absolutely delicious. Not to mention the fabulous smell. It tastes and smells like bread but is a cake, although you can use the plain mix for a sweet loaf. Use whatever final ingredients you want - I used chopped apricots, dried cranberries and a handful of sultanas with 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. But the choice is yours completely. Use any mix of dried fruit, cherries, apples, chocolate chips, any nuts, all in any combination.

A few “dos and don’ts - No metal, spoons or bowls. Do not refrigerate, it will die. Do not use a lid, it needs air! I used a clean tea towel.

You will first need to make a starter and this takes 5 days. In a plastic or glass bowl place:

12 fl oz warm water and milk mix

1 sachet of dried active yeast

5 oz plain flour

7 oz caster sugar

Dissolve the yeast in 2 fl oz of the warm milky water for 10-15 mins until frothy and coming alive.  then stir in the remaining liquid, flour and sugar with a wooden spoon. Cover loosely and leave overnight. Leave for a day.

That’s the starter - now begin the ten day routine.

Day 1 - place in a medium/large mixing bowl and cover loosely 

Day 2 - Stir

Day 3 - Stir

Day 4 - Feed the cake with 4 oz plain flour, 6 oz caster sugar and a small cup of milk [4 fl oz]. Stir.

Day 5, 6, 7, 8, - Stir

Day 9 - as Day 4

Day 10 - make the cake!!

You can now divide this into 4 portions, give 3 away and bake with one.

OR - if you only use half of the “feeding” ingredients, divide into 2, bake with one half and begin again with the other.

The ¼ portion makes a 7 inch cake but for the half portion use a 9 inch, as I did, above.

Main Cake

8 oz caster sugar 

10 oz plain flour

5 fl oz of oil - I used rapeseed

2 eggs

vanilla extract to taste

2 heaped teaspoonfuls of baking powder

2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon

Now add the fruit/cake flavour/ingredients you prefer

Mix it all together and tip into your prepared tin, with the base lined. Now sprinkle over some demerara and a couple of fl oz of melted butter then bake for about an hour at 170C in your fan oven. Now cover with foil and continue baking until a knitting needle comes out clean. The 9 inch cake took another 30 mins.

Just delicious. Well worth the effort and on day 4 the cake was still most and soft. I will make a date and walnut with it next, I think!